Ransomware Attack Forces Closure of Illinois Hospital.

St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley, Illinois, will close its doors due to a cyberattack that halted the hospital’s ability to submit claims to insurers, Medicare or Medicaid for months, sending it into a financial spiral. This makes it the first hospital to publicly link criminal hackers to its closure. Ransomware attacks have plagued U.S. healthcare since 2016, with at least 300 documented attacks a year on American healthcare facilities since 2020. Hospitals that fall victim to ransomware attacks often have to scramble to find ways to suddenly work without the computers that have become integral to modern healthcare.